This week in 1996
“I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that the prophet Mohammed is the messenger of God.”
— John Mills JR., convicted of murder, electric chair, Florida.
Executed December 6, 1996
Mills and another man robbed Lester Lawhon, then took him to an abandoned airstrip and beat him with a tire iron. When Lawhon tried to escape, Mills shot him twice. While in prison, Mills converted to Islam and asked that the name Yuhanna Abdullah Muhammed be added to his file. Lawhon’s mother did not attend the execution, saying, “Another family is suffering.” Mills’s accomplice, Michael Frederick, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and received 347 years in prison.
This week in 1912
“Gentlemen, I presume you have come here to witness the execution of a murderer but while that is the word for my crime, I am not a murderer at heart. But the law requires my execution, and I am ready.”
— Edward Delehante (aka Delahanty) , convicted of murder, hanging, California.
Executed December 6, 1912
Delehante was already serving a fourteen-year assault charge in San Quentin when the murder took place. As the prisoners lined up for breakfast one morning, Delehante stabbed two men, one of whom, William Kaufman, died from his wounds. Delehante’s defense rested on the accusation that Kaufman had teased him to the point of madness.
This week in 2000
“Lord, be merciful with those who are actively involved with the taking of my life, forgive them as I am forgiving them. Be merciful to me a sinner. Protect us Lord as we stay awake and watch over us as we sleep as we wake may we may keep watch with Christ and sleep rest in His peace. All right, Warden. I am ready to go home.”
— Garry Miller, convicted of abduction, rape and murder, lethal injection, Texas.
Executed December 5, 2000
Garry Miller Joined in the search for 7-year-old April Wilson after she was reported missing. Miller had raped her, strangled her and beat her to death, leaving blood on his tailgate the night before. Upon questioning, he gave a full confession. The bartender/laborer had no previous criminal record.
